


Wings of Fire Egg Laying One-Shots

by rgii55447



Category: Wings of Fire - Tui T. Sutherland
Genre: Awkward Relationship Situations, Childbirth, Egg Laying, Inevitability, Love, Pain, Romance, lots of screaming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:02:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28841346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rgii55447/pseuds/rgii55447
Summary: We all want our favorite ships to grow up and have a family of there own. And while that's wonderful, the act of actually having that family is quite an effort. This is the stories of your favorite ships as they face the drama (and sometimes comedy), pain, and love involved in laying an egg. (Not in Chronological Order).Rated T for Non-Graphic, but Painful Depictions of Egg Laying.
Relationships: Clearsight/Sunstreak (Wings of Fire), Deathbringer/Glory (Wings of Fire), Fatespeaker/Starflight (Wings of Fire), Kinkajou/Turtle (Wings of Fire), Moon/Qibli (Wings of Fire), Riptide/Tsunami (Wings of Fire), Sky/Sunny (Wings of Fire), Sundew/Willow (Wings of Fire)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 10





	1. Sunny and Sky's Egg

**Author's Note:**

> Please note, Cricket and Blue already have a story in their own entry.

Sunny looked at Sky, then at her belly, full with eggs.

 _Only a few days now, and I’ll be a mother,_ Sunny thought excitedly, affection for her future kids filling her Soul.

“We’re going to put the nest here, a shelf for bedtime scrolls here, and a cage for their possible pet snails here,” said Sky, enthusiastically flittering through the room that was to be their nursery. Wren had come over the other day to give some advice, and Sky had eaten it all up. Sunny chuckled to herself, Sky was almost as excited for their dragonets as she was.

Now, it wasn’t all perfect, Sunny couldn’t help but feel a little anxiety over the idea of laying eggs. She had heard somewhere that it was supposed to hurt, and Sunny didn’t think she could stand the thought of that.

_It can’t hurt too bad, can it? Just a little?_

Sunny thought back to the night that Clay had saved them all from that Dragonbite Viper, and how Peril had to burn the venom out to save his life. She remembered how Clay had howled with pain her heart twisting with agony for him. _I can’t imagine being so blind with pain that I lose who I am._ But that was all behind them now, right? _Me and Sky are going be parents, and we are going to have the most perfect children._

 _Still…_ thought Sunny, glancing back at her hind legs, she couldn’t help but feel indignant on how the eggs would enter the world. _It’s so not modest. I’m glad only Sky will be here to see it._

Oh, and Tsunami. Sunny didn’t know why she let Tsunami talk herself into being her midwife, but as she had had an egg or two in the past, she must know something about what’s going on.

_It can’t be too bad can it? Dragons lay eggs all the time. If it was too much, nobody would do it, right? And then we’d all go extinct._

Unfortunately, for poor gentle Sunny, she was wrong.

“Ouch! Ouch! OWWWWW!” Sunny screamed, throwing her head into the air.

“It’s okay, everybody goes through this,” Tsunami said, trying to calm her little friend down.

“No no,” said Sunny, the contractions going down, “If everybody went through this, there would be no more dragonets.

“Oh trust me, when I laid my eggs, I was screaming my head off.” Tsunami replied.

“What!” Cried Sunny, “The strong warrior Tsunami screamed her head off, and you expect the same thing to happen to poor gentle Sunny?!”

“You must not be very far along,” Tsunami informed. “You’re still acting fairly calm.”

“Fairly calm!” Sunny cried, “You mean it gets worse.”

“Much worse.”

“What! I can’t take any wo-!” But the next second she just did.

“OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!” Sunny screamed, crumpling to the ground, writhing in agony. “MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!” She cried. “NOOOOOOOOOO!”

Meanwhile, Sky was beside himself, elated by the fact of him being a father.

“We can name the first one snail, and the second- And I can teach them all to play games, and-“

“Just be quiet, you stupid son of Kestrel!” Sunny shouted. It was the only insult she could think of.

Sky took a step back. The Sunny he knew never spoke like that. For the first time he truly realized the situation and how much pain she was in. Sunny couldn’t take anymore. But take it she did anyway.

“OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!” Sunny wailed again and again. “MAKE IT STOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!”

Tsunami knew what that was like, the desperate need to escape your own body, but the inability to do anything about it no matter how much you writhed and screamed. Sunny was the last of the Dragonets of Destiny to have her own dragonets, and fate had held out on the gentlest of the Dragonets for long enough, but pain holds back from no one, and Sunny was finally joining Tsunami and Glory on the other side. Clay and Starflight had no idea.

Sky didn’t know what to do.

“Here let me help you.” He said, about to rest his talons on Sunny’s shoulder.

But then her eye’s flashed dark.

“NO!” She shouted, kicking out full force, her talons connecting with… let’s just say a very sensitive place. “I HATE YOU!”

Sky meanwhile had collapsed to his knees, grabbing at his injury, groaning in agony. Sunny’s eyes filled with guilt, but as the next wave of pain overtook her, she burst out instead.

“I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME YOU STUPID EXCUSE OF A DRAGON! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!” Tears streamed down her face, and Sky could see she didn’t mean a single word she said. She was just acting out, almost as if by saying these things, she could express the pain she was in by countering it with guilt. “I hate myself. I’m the stupid dragon who has to do this.” Sunny said, beginning to whimper.

Sky struggled to pull himself back to his talons, because although he was in agony, he knew that Sunny was in worse.

“What do we do?” Sky asked, limping up to Tsunami, who was watching the whole thing in stunned silence. He felt slightly unconscious of the show he had just gave.

“Nothing we can do. All we can do is wait.”

“Oh it’s coming! It’s coming from my-” Sunny couldn’t let herself finish, or maybe she did, she would have no idea what she shouted as the pain from the final push overtook her rational being. (Sky and Tsunami both reassured her that she didn’t cuss any, apparently Sunny didn’t have it in her (although her ability to invent new insults wasn’t out of the question)).

Sunny got a little break after the first egg came, highly self-conscious as they went to retrieve it. But then there were still two eggs left.

And as much as Sunny couldn’t stand the idea of going through that all again, she did, and each egg was just as bad as the last, each time, Sunny lost herself, screaming insults and hate that the Sunny she thought she was never would.

Tsunami on the other talon, couldn't bite back a slight amusement that this little demon in front of her was the sweet innocent Sunny they all loved, but at the same time she was filled with pity that she should be going through this.

But finally, it was all over, the tears rolled freely down her face as she let her trembling, exhausted body recover. Tsunami, knowing everything was good now, returned home.

“I’m sorry Sky,” she said finally, “for everything I said.”

“It’s alright,” replied Sky, laying down beside her and the eggs. “I knew you didn’t mean it.”

“But that dragon, it wasn’t me,” Sunny burst out, “If that was me, then I don’t know who I am.”

“You’re my Sunny,” Sky replied, “And I love you.”

With that, Sky gave her a nuzzle, and they both rested together.

As Tsunami flew home, she thought of what had happened with Sunny. For whatever reason, Sunny had trusted her with this personal aspect of her life (perhaps she could have chosen Glory, but being busy being Queen, it would seem likely Sunny didn't want to bother her). Whatever the reason, whatever she had witnessed was between her, Sunny, and Sky, and she knew she was going to keep it that way. Just her and her little sister.

ONE YEAR LATER

The eggs were ready to hatch. Sunny and Sky couldn’t wait. The first egg popped open and out came an adorable baby dragonet. The second and third quickly followed, and Sky and Sunny were soon surrounded by sweet tumbling babies.

Scooping them up, Sunny held them tight, the sweet things snuggling next to her. Sunny’s heart filled with warmth.

“I love you.” She said to them.

“WUV!” One shouted in return.

Oh... Sunny was glad to be a mother.


	2. Tsunami's Egg

Tsunami knew a thing or two about secrets herself. Everybody knew about Tsunami’s Dragonets, but nobody knew that those weren’t the first eggs she had laid. That was her secret, a secret only known between her and Riptide.

“RIPTIDE!” Tsunami shouted as she finally found her Ex-Boyfriend. Catching him off guard, she tackled him and pinned him to the ground. They were in a discrete location, which was good, because Tsunami didn’t need what she was about to shout getting out.

“What is it, what is it?” Riptide cried, trying to escape her grip.

“Look at me!” Tsunami cried, releasing him and pointing at her belly. “What in the three Moons is that?”

Riptide followed her gaze. It appeared she had put on a little more wait then usual, but he wasn’t sure that would be the best thing to say.

“Uh…”

“It’s an egg!” Tsunami cried, “I’m with egg and you’ve left me. How can you do this to me Riptide?”

“Wait, hold it,” Riptide exclaimed, “First of all, you broke up from me this time. Second of all, how can that egg be mine? We never did… anything together that would make that happen.”

Tsunami nodded grudgingly, “Yeah, well I certainly wasn’t with anyone else. I was waiting for us to get back together again.” (Obviously they broke up a lot.)

Riptide thought about it for a moment. “Well obviously, if it’s not mine, and if it’s not anybody else’s, then it’s just yours.”

“What? That doesn’t make any since.”

“Of course it does. The egg is infertile. Like a chicken.”

“Don’t call me a chicken!” Tsunami cried indignantly.

“Okay, not a chicken, take any animal that just lays eggs for the fun of it-“

“This is not fun.”

“Okay, but you get the point. This is all just a result of a chemical imbalance.”

By the look on Tsunami’s face, he decided he should quit before he went too far.

After a few well aimed blows to Riptide, Tsunami decided to start speaking to him again (He was the only one who knew her secret, and she wasn’t going to blurt it to anybody else).

“If this is normal, how come we don’t see it happening to dragons left and right?”

“They’re probably too embarrassed to say anything about it,” Riptide said, standing up with a groan. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it happens all the time.”

“You know what?” Tsunami asked, “You should be the one with the egg, and then I’d laugh.”

But Riptide only shook his head, “Only females have egg problems.”

“Why you *exist-!”

As you can see, this relationship probably could use some very good counseling. (Seriously, if your relationship is like this, get help, it’s for the best for both of you.)

Knowing that the egg was completely worthless did not help Tsunami feel any better, it simply meant that she was about to endure the most stupid and painful of events for no reason at all.

As discreetly as she could, Tsunami asked her mother about it.

“Mom, did it hurt when you had my egg? Not because I’m thinking anything about eggs in my future or anything of course.”

Queen Coral looked at her.

“No dear,” she replied, “Laying an egg is a wonderful, beautiful experience. There are no problems at all. Don’t listen to those nay-sayers who say it’s painful.”

But Tsunami could see her mother was just saying what she wanted to believe, not what was exactly truth.

Plus, she’d heard dragons in the Egg-Laying Ward before, and it didn’t paint a pretty picture.

On the night Tsunami was expecting, they had found a nice isolated place to go.

“I can’t believe we had to get this far from everybody just so nobody could hear me screaming. It’s ridiculous.”

“No, no, the Tsunami I know is too tough for screaming.” Riptide soothed.

One hour later, Tsunami was screaming like there was no tomorrow.

“OWWWWWWWWW! CUT IT OUT! CUT IT OUT!”

“What! I’m not going to rip you open!” Riptide replied in astonishment.

But then Tsunami’s face twisted in agony.

“Too late for that.”

“If it’s any consolation, you are the toughest dragon I know. Dragons weaker than you have been through just as much.”

“Well good for them! At least they weren’t me!” Tsunami flashed.

But then Tsunami hardened her face.

“You’re right, I am the might Tsunami, nothing overpowers me!”

That was until the next wave of contractions.

“Okay, okay, I give up, I’m a wimp, I’m a wimp. Help me!”

And with that, Tsunami’s screams penetrated the night. Fortunately, no other dragons were around to hear.

“If this is like this for you, I weaker dragons react,” Riptide observed.

“I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” Tsunami shot back “SOMEHOW!”

When the egg was done, Tsunami finally got to rest, catching her heavy breath.

“Well, it’s done,” Riptide said, holding the egg out to her.

“Great,” said Tsunami, holding the worthless egg. It was cold, and Tsunami could just tell, there was nothing living inside “All that for this. Brilliant.”

“Well, what are you going to do with it?” Riptide inquired.

“I don’t know,” Tsunami answered, “I guess dispose of it as quickly as possible.”

With that, Tsunami began to think.

Riptide woke up the next morning to the smell of breakfast cooking.

Riptide got up to see what Tsunami was up to. When he found her, he saw that she was just making eggs-

Riptide stopped in his tracks. Eggs?!

“Good morning sleepyhead,” said Tsunami, “I decided to make breakfast while you slept.”

Riptide looked at the egg she was cooking.

“Is that what I think it is?” He asked, flabbergasted.

“I had nothing else to do with it, so why not.” Tsunami said, taking out a couple of plates. She split the egg up and slide half onto one plate, and half onto another. She held out one to Riptide.

“Wait, what?! I can’t eat that! That’s your-“

“Eat.” Tsunami commanded, shoving the plate at him.

Taking the plate, Riptide held it in his talons. He looked at Tsunami, and together, they raised a bite to their mouths and took a bite.

“Bleh!” Said Tsunami, letting a piece fall out of her mouth and back onto her plate. “Can you believe it? We are literally eating my own-“

“It’s actually kind of good.” Riptide said, simultaneously.

Tsunami and Riptide looked at each other, and they both burst out laughing. Unable to contain it, they both fell to the floor, rolling on the floor hysterically.

“You know,” Tsunami said, catching her breath, “Let’s have a real egg together next time.”

Riptide looked at her.

“Agreed.”

A month later, Tsunami and Riptide made it official. They were married, and Tsunami was laying her first real egg with Riptide. Although the egg wasn’t worthless this time, it didn’t make it hurt any less, and Tsunami continued to scream just as she had the first time. But when it was done Tsunami looked at the egg. There would be no eating of the egg this time, because this one was her baby, and she would love it forever.


	3. Clearsight and Sunstreak's Egg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credits to the Wings of Fire wiki for providing the names of Clearsight's dragonets.

Sunstreak was a good partner, Clearsight thought, he was kind and gentle, and he would never do Clearsight any harm.

Of course, Clearsight would never forget Darkstalker. No matter how much he had done, Clearsight couldn’t bring herself to hate him. He was lost and confused, and didn’t know how to cope with the trauma in his life. But he had to be stopped, and Clearsight knew there was no going back.

When Clearsight told Sunstreak she was carrying his eggs, the light that filled his eyes couldn’t be brighter.

“That’s wonderful! How are you feeling about this?”

To be honest, Clearsight was a little anxious, and Clearsight could see the same anxiety in his eyes. They both knew the cost of egg laying and the pure exertion it had on the body, but Sunstreak couldn’t see the future like Clearsight could. There was absolutely no future in which Clearsight did not come out alright, but at the same time, there was no future in which Clearsight didn’t come out screaming. Clearsight would still be begging for death, for it to end, no matter how much she foresaw it wasn’t going to happen.

She was really beginning to regret her decision to have dragonets, but it was inevitable now, all she could do was ride it out to the end, no matter how much it hurt.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be alright.” Clearsight replied, knowing it to be more or less the truth.

Clearsight was only in the beginning phase of labor, and the pain was already unbearable. How could any dragon go through this, especially at least once every generation? Surely other dragons must have these same thoughts, yet nearly every dragon has at least one egg in their lifetime. And what frightened Clearsight most, was that in her visions of the future, it could only get worse, much worse, with Clearsight screaming and squirming in ways she never could imagine herself doing, and it wouldn’t be long now. At this point, Clearsight felt if it got any worse, she wouldn’t know what she would do (She did technically, from a seer’s standpoint, but she couldn’t imagine what she would do with her body to be able to cope. Perhaps there would be no way to cope with what she was about to go through).

How would Darkstalker have reacted to this? He probably would have used his Animus powers to relieve her pain, but besides that, he would have been there for her. But there was no use thinking about that, Darkstalker would never again be in her potential futures, and besides Sunstreak was here for her as well.

But Sunstreak couldn’t cause pain relief.

And she needed pain relief too, because just then, the next wave hit, unlike anything she had ever felt before.

“Help me!” She cried.

“What do you need,” asked Sunstreak, knowing there was nothing he could do. And just then, the next wave hit, absolutely unfathomable.

“KILL ME!” Clearsight screamed, squirming on the floor in her tortured body. Surely she must know there was no possible future in which Sunstreak would do that to her. But Clearsight didn’t seem to care, “LET ME DIE!” Clearsight repeated, almost as if by demanding it, she could force into being a future she could not see.

“Think about our dragonets” Sunstreak reminded her, “Don’t you remember how much you said you’d love them?”

But Clearsight could no longer see the beauty of the future, or she no longer cared. Any future worth living later meant enduring through what she was going through now. And enduring was more than she could bare. Obviously knowing what you are going to go through, and knowing you’re going to come out alright, is something else entirely from actually going through it with the same knowledge. And why were her visions telling her she was about to be screaming like that in the next few seconds-

And then it struck, the worst wave of pain she had ever felt, way beyond that she could ever have imagined. Clearsight screamed and screamed, her mind lost to all rational thought.

One egg was out. As Sunstreak came to show it to her, she saw its future. Commodore, the King of Giggles. Despite the circumstances, Clearsight almost smiled- But then the pain hit again, and Clearsight was then again screaming.

The second egg, Jewel.

Unfathomable pain.

Number three, Tortoiseshell.

As much as she would have liked to concentrate on this egg individually, Clearsight had to focus on getting the last egg out.

And then the pain hit. This was perhaps the largest egg of them all. Clearsight screamed and squealed, anything to bare the unbearable pain, writhing, but nothing, nothing in the world could give her one ounce of relief, no position she could squirm herself into could make her bare the existence of being within her own body.

And she was done, curled up in a ball on her own side, she breathed deeply, taking in the world, remembering once again what it was like not to feel tortured just for occupying your own body.

As Sunstreak held the fourth egg for her, she looked at him.

“Orange? Seriously?” She didn’t have to look at the future, from the look on his face, she knew it was inevitable.

But Clearsight saw that she wasn’t done. She would have many more dragonets to come, and each time would be just as painful as the last, her screaming and crying for relief she knew would never come. She would have so many children from which a new tribe would rise. A tribe that could guide and coexist with the BeetleWings and LeafWings for over a thousand years.

Looking at her new eggs now though, she realized now was the time to be. There would be plenty of time to worry about further eggs in the future, but now she had Commodore, Jewel, Tortoiseshell and (she glanced at Sunstreak with a sigh) Orange, her four perfect dragonets. Tears nearly filled her eyes as she remembered the dragonets she would never have with Darkstalker, she would always love and mourn them, even though they never had the chance to be alive, but she would love these four just as much. The future would come in its own time, but for now, she would cherish her present, and the time she had with her dragonets now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't want to write too many of these too close together as I don't want to seem as if I'm just repeating the same thing. But then again, it kind of is the same thing, but I want make sure each character expresses this same horrible event in their own unique way.  
> Which characters do you want to see next?


	4. Moon and Qibli's Egg

The screams of pure agony jerked Moonwatcher awake. Her heart tightened. Someone was suffering. A wave of pity rushed over her, the screams were so weak and helpless, she had to help whoever it was.

And then the vision slapped her. The screaming was coming from herself, laying on a nest, writhing in agony as she laid her eggs, Qibli and Winter (Winter, she never could figure out what he was doing there) at her side.

And then the vision was gone.

Moon stood up from her nest beside Qibli, feeling her growing stomach, panting hard. This was the third time the vision had hit, and it didn’t help with the anxiety she felt over laying. The idea of an egg coming from her too small to handle it body nearly panicked her.

She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed deeply. _You can do it. Surely every mother before you has shared these fears._

Of course this thought didn’t help. Moon couldn’t help but have overheard the thoughts of dragons laying eggs before, even the mighty Queen Glory, and it was never pretty. But these thoughts had always belonged to someone else, never to her, and it just didn’t seem right.

“Are you okay,” said a voice next to her. She looked up to see Qibli getting up from the nest and coming to her side.

“Yeah, just worried about the laying, that’s all.”

Qibli came up beside her and wrapped her tail in his own. The sincerity in his eyes helped put her at ease a little. Qibli never wore his Skyfire around her anymore, and she could see all the concern and love he had for her. There was also a touch of amusement about Moon’s predicament that he couldn’t quite suppress, but his self-consciousness and feeling of guilt over that side of himself was more than enough to make up for it.

“I would take your place if I could,” Qibli said.

“No you wouldn’t,” Moon replied. She knew Qibli wished he would be willing to take her place in this situation, but if it really came down to it, he couldn’t. Besides, Moon knew that no matter how little she thought her body was adapted to do the task, Qibli’s was even less so.

Besides, if it was him, perhaps he wouldn’t find it so amusing. Might as well give him that.

(Ironically, as much as Moon hated her own predicament, the fact that Qibli found a sliver of amusement in it was in itself kind of secretly amusing. Let Qibli feel that way, it was the only amusement she would find while laying their eggs.)

Moon was shivering as Qibli rushed toward her side. She had just faced the first signs of contractions.

“I don’t know if I can do this.” Moon said.

All the slivers of amusement Qibli felt instantly disintegrated as anxiety for his true love hit him.

“It’s okay, you got this,” Qibli said, “I’ll be right here beside you.”

Moon knew he was telling the truth, not because she was physically capable of this, but because she had no other choice.

“Here,” said Qibli, leading her to their nest, “Lay down and try to relax.”

Suddenly, there was the sound of wings flapping, and talons landing on the entrance to their home, built into the hills outside of Possibility.

“I’ll go check that,” Qibli said as Moon laid down in the nest.

It was Winter.

“What are you doing here?” Qibli said, startled.

“Can’t I visit old friends?” Winter asked, “Or is yours and Moon’s relationship too special for that?”

“Well, you didn’t exactly choose the best time.” Qibli stated frankly.

“Why?” Winter inquired, “What’s happening?”

As if in answer, Moon gave out a squeal, followed by load wailing.

“What’s happening?” Winter asked frantically, “What’s happening to Moon?”

Before Qibli could stop him, Winter rushed into the house, and into the room where Moon was moaning and beginning to writhe in her nest.

“What’s happening?” Winter cried as Qibli entered the room behind him.

“I’m laying an egg you doofus!” Struggled Moon through the pain before bursting out wailing again.

“What did you do to her?” Winter demanded, spinning his attention to Qibli.

“I’m not sure how to answer that,” Qibli responded. “Why did you have to come now? You couldn’t have chosen a worse time?”

“I didn’t know this was happening!” Shouted Winter, “How was I supposed to know?”

“Well, I’m sure your worst time to come meter was beeping, and you couldn’t resist,” Responded Qibli.

“Guys,” cried Moon, “Are you going to keep arguing, or are you going to come help?”

Qibli and Winter stopped arguing and rushed to Moon’s side. Tears were rolling down her face. The pain was not yet completely unbearable, but the fact that it was just beginning was too much to bare.

“Are you okay?” Qibli asked.

The pain washing through Moon was intense, but it was not too much for her to focus.

“I don’t think I can do this,” Moon said again.

“Here, you’ll be okay.” Qibli said, “I’ll be here for you.”

Meanwhile, Winter stood on the sideline watching, concerned for Moon, but not sure what he should do here. Moon looked up at him.

“I love how you’re all gathered around me to witness my problems,” she stated.

Winter looked back towards the door. “Should I go?” He asked awkwardly. He knew he probably should, but he still cared for Moon, and he didn’t want to leave her like this.

 _Get some since into your brain Winter,_ he thought to himself, _she’s going to go through this whether you’re here or not. Qibli’s here to take care of her now._

Moon looked up at him, obviously reading his thoughts. Winter realized he had forgot to bring his Skyfire.

“Since you’re here, you might as well make yourself useful.” Moon responded.

“Get her some water,” Qibli said. Winter nodded and rushed from the room.

“Sorry about this,” Qibli said to Moon when he was out.

“It’s okay,” Moon said, “Winter just wants to help.”

Qibli nodded, trying to force down his jealousy.

Suddenly Moon started moaning again.

“Moon?” he asked frantically.

“It’s getting to be too much.” Moon wailed, stretching her next in various directions, as if trying to escape.

And then the pain hit unbelievable.

Moon screamed as if her life depended on it.

It was as if all the gore and violence that had made Moon feel sick to hear about, she was feeling right now.

But for her, those had always just been stories, the thoughts of other dragons in labor something separated from by the very essence of just being oneself.

The truth had never fully struck her that it could be real, at least for her.

But it was real, as it had been for every dragon prior, she was just the latest to be touched by it.

And like all others, she couldn’t bare it. Let it happen to someone else, just not her.

And like with all others, there was no escape.

Moon could not bear her very existence.

As Moon writhed and screamed with her very Soul in her nest, Qibli searched desperately for a way to comfort her. Winter arrived with a pitcher of water.

Qibli looked at Moon. “Do you think you can take a drink of water?”

Moon shook her head through the daze of pain. Even though she was dehydrated, there was no way she could swallow past all these screams.

Winter stepped up beside Qibli. “How’s she doing?”

Qibli shook his head, not sure how to answer. Obviously, she was going through a lot, but wasn’t that what always happened? How had he not anticipated this fate for Moon? What made him so okay with her going through with it?

Winter sat down opposite Moon, “I’ll be here if you guys need anything.

Qibli looked up at him gratefully.

“You know,” Qibli said after a while, “In the end it doesn’t matter which one of us she chose, it would have always been her who had to go through this in the end. Whether she’s fit for it or not, she ultimately would have to be the toughest of us all.”

Qibli and Winter’s thoughts, though well meaning, weren’t making Moon feel any more secure in her own biology.

“Yes, I know I’m not lucky I’m like you guys!” Moon wailed between contractions.

While it wasn’t entirely out of the picture to lay a double-yoked egg, a triple-yoked egg was almost unheard of.

And a triple-yoked egg was what Moon was laying right now.

An egg almost as wide as her waist itself.

The egg forcing itself through her too small to contain it body.

And as the egg started making its final step into the world, Moon’s screams hit a new intensity.

“OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!” Screamed Moonwatcher, lost in a void of agony.

Along with all the pain the labor had previously required, it was like she was required to perform a full-on splits for there to even be enough room for an egg of this size.

As Qibli rushed to check on the egg, he pointed at Winter to stay where he was.

As Qibli saw the egg, he turned to Moon.

“Oh Moon… I’m so sorry.”

“What?” Asked Winter, eyes lighting with worry.

“The egg is huge. It’s like it’s a whole Moon.” Qibli cringed, realizing the accidental pun. Moon turned red with embarrassment at Winter and Qibli trying to suppress thoughts of her struggling with an actual Moon.

With how much pain she was enduring now, thinking about how it would feel to lay a full moon…

This was too much as it was. Moon screamed with agony. She needed to top that scream with another scream, but she only had one voice, and could only scream so loud.

The egg just couldn’t fit through her!

But it wouldn’t stop either.

Moon screamed after scream after scream. Yet it kept coming.

And then it burst free, too much pain to measure, and Moon let out a gasp as the egg came tumbling into the world.

Moon gasped for air as the pain began to fade.

Winter stepped up with the pitcher.

“Here, have some water.”

Moon took the pitcher and drank greedily. Tears streamed down her eyes at the experience she had just went through.

“Are you okay?” Qibli asked, coming up with the egg.

“Am I okay?” Moon asked, the question rolling through her brain, “I don’t… What did I just go through?” Moon didn’t know what to do, so she just poured it out, “I suffer pain that I can’t even imagine, I feel like I’m going to die, and I’m just stuck there writhing and screaming and not knowing what to do, and it all has to do with having… being a female, and you guys are there for me, and you both care for me, but you know I’m different, and it’s like you all have to deal with my problems, and I’m the only one who has them, and I’m just so tired, I don’t know what to think any more.”

Qibli twined his tail around Moon’s, “It’s okay. You should rest now, alright?”

Moon felt the exhaustion beginning to overpower her, Qibli was right.

“You can get your thoughts together once you’ve rested.” Moon nodded and let herself slump back down into the nest. Qibli placed the egg beside her.

“Here, I’ll stay with you.” Qibli rested beside her to give her comfort. As Winter watched them, he turned to leave. The room. He wasn’t ready to leave quite yet, as he wanted to check up on them later, but he would give his friends time to rest.

And Moonwatcher, Qibli, and the Egg snuggled in their nest together, no longer focusing on their worries as of now, and just letting themselves be.


	5. Kinkajou and Turtle's Egg

“I can’t believe we are going to HAVE AN EGG!” Kinkajou burst to Turtle, “This is going to be so awesome, like baby sloths, where we can hug them and cuddle them, and RUB THEIR LITTLE BELLIES!”

Kinkajou looked at Turtle. He was silent.

“You are excited, right Turtle? You do think this is awesome because this is THE MOST AWESOME THING IN OUR LIVES!” Kinkajou couldn’t contain her excitement.

“Yeah, of course,” said Turtle honestly, but still holding back the anxiety, “But you do know… you do know how the egg is getting into the world, right?”

Kinkajou stared at him, “Well… I think…” Kinkajou thought a moment. She actually realized that nobody had really told her during her whole LONG ENTIRE LIFE. “Uh, actually, no. Tell me.”

Turtle’s face went red. Trying his best, he told Kinkajou of what he knew.

Kinkajou stared at him blankly, “Well… That’s just… Hilarious!” Kinkajou burst out laughing, “This is so embarrassing. So while you’re going on being normal, I’m…” Kinkajou tried to hold in the laugher, “I’m being so humiliating. And you get to sit there and watch me be humiliated-” Suddenly realization hit Kinkajou’s eyes. “Oh, you’re so embarrassed because you like to think of me like that.” Kinkajou tried to suppress her giggles. “You’re so cute. Don’t worry, I think embarrassing thoughts about you all the time.”

Turtle didn’t know how to respond to that, shifting his legs uncertainly.

“You do know it’s going to hurt right?” Turtle asked.

“I’ve been hit by Magical Death Spit, and I’ve been crushed by that NightWing meany. I can endure anything.”

Turtle tried to let that reassure him, but in all honesty, he couldn’t shake the feeling of anxiety.

With how Kinkajou was screaming, Turtle guessed she had underestimated the effects of laying an egg.

“This is not hilarious! This is not hilarious!” Kinkajou screamed, writhing on the floor. “Oh, the great and mighty Kinkajou reduced to nothing by a dumb egg! OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!”

 _Oh, this must be so unbearable,_ Turtle thought. _The one and only Kinkajou enduring the unbearable because the Universe declared it so._

Fear clinched Turtle’s gut. If he were in Kinkajou’s place and he was in hers, wouldn’t that mean it would be him enduring that pain instead. Just thinking about Kinkajou’s pain made him feel nauseous, what must it be like to actually feel it?

 _Stop it!_ Turtle shouted to himself, _This is about Kinkajou, not you._ Whatever it felt like to actually be going through this, Kinkajou already knew, Turtle realized, _Just because you’re not feeling it doesn’t mean it’s not being felt._

Suddenly, an idea hit Turtle. He picked up a rock from the ground. _I enchant this rock to make me know what Kinkajou’s feeling._

“OWWWWW!” Screamed Turtle, flinging the rock across the room, the worst pain he had ever felt in his entire existence fading in a second. He looked down at Kinkajou. No matter how much he cared for her, he couldn’t bring himself to touch that rock again. “I couldn’t even endure it for one second,” Turtle said slumping to the ground, “How can you do this for… however long this lasts?”

“You think I have a choice!” Kinkajou screamed, “I would it now if I had the choice!”

Turtle thought of all the dragons that had laid eggs before now. Was this what it was really like? Every single dragon of all tribes, forced to perform an unbearable task that one would abandon first second if given the choice, only to have it drag on and on, because it is out of their control? Turtle had seen a lot of cruelty in the world, but he had never imagined such cruelty could be so natural.

“I’m sorry Kinkajou,” Turtle said letting the empathy overflow, “I wish you didn’t have to go through this right now.”

“Are you kidding?” Demanded Kinkajou, “If I were in your place, I would be laughing right now! And here you are wishing it away!”

Turtle looked at her confused, “What are you talking about? You said so yourself, this is not hilarious.”

“To me it’s not!” Kinkajou cried as another wave of contractions hit her, she cried out, curling into a ball, “NOT FUNNY AT ALL! OWWWWWWWWWW!” But as they slowed down, “But if this were someone else, it would be the most hilarious thing on the planet- OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!” Kinkajou writhed. As the wave slowed down, she stopped. “To you, I’m that someone else- OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Not funny! NOT FUNNY! MAKE IT STOPPPPPPPPPP!”

Turtle had no idea what to think of Kinkajou’s statement. No, he couldn’t see Kinkajou’s predicament that way. She was his wife, and he cared for her too deeply to even find a drop of humor in this. But what if this was a different dragon he knew but didn’t feel as attached to? Moon? Peril? Yes they were friends and he cared for their wellbeing, but knowing what he did from his second with the rock, how did he feel thinking about them enduring it? He thought of Peril and Clay’s dragonet they had a few years back, and he couldn’t help but feel a spark of amusement at the thought of Peril struggling with that egg.

 _Thank you Kinkajou, you’ve turned me into a psychotic maniac._ He thought that was Peril’s job. Perhaps it was comeuppance then, Peril having that egg.

But right now his concern needed to be on Kinkajou. Suddenly an idea hit him. Why hadn’t he thought of it earlier?

Turtle picked up another rock, it was a bit sharp and Turtle winced as it dug into his talons.

 _I enchant this rock to make it not hurt so much!_ Turtle shouted in his mind.

“MAKE THIS HAPPEN TO SOMEBODY ELSE SO I CAN LAUGH ABOUT IT!” Screamed Kinkajou through her egg.

Turtle looked down at the rock. _What?_ Well, at least he didn’t feel the sharp edges anymo-

Turtle gave a cry in frustration, flinging the rock across the room. Of course he would enchant that rock wrong.

Suddenly, Kinkajou’s screams intensified.

“It’s coming! It’s coming! My-” Turtle looked around for another object to enchant, but there weren’t many more loose rocks in their cave to pick up. Turtle rushed to Kinkajou’s side.

“Are you okay?”

“No!” Cried Kinkajou, “This is so embarrassing! It would be hilarious if it didn’t hurt so much! OWWWWWWWWWW!”

“Don’t worry,” said Turtle, “Many other dragons have went through this long before now.”

“We’re suffering because we’re all girls!” Kinkajou said. And at that point, something broke in her. She started laughing hysterically, bursting between laughter and scream every few seconds until it became lost in an incoherent blob of both where one couldn’t tell one from the other.

Turtle didn’t know how to feel about this. He felt bad about what Kinkajou said about how just being a girl made one susceptible to such trauma, as if there was any fairness in it. But at the same time, Kinkajou seemed to think it hilarious, if not the actual event, the circumstance.

He guessed he’d just have to leave it to Kinkajou to figure out. For him, he had to find a way to stop her pain.

But before Turtle could make another move, Kinkajou’s laughter/screaming transformed into one big squeal, obviously any humor Kinkajou had found was instantly evaporated as the worst pain hit.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Kinkajou cried.

And then GASP!

The egg was out into the world.

Turtle rushed to help her. Kinkajou stood silent a moment, as if processing her thoughts.

“Kinkajou…” Turtle started, “Are you…”

“THAT WAS HORRIBLE!” Kinkajou burst out. In an instant, she was again laughing hysterically, rolling on the floor in laughter.

“You should have seen yourself!” She cried, “You didn’t know how to feel as I humiliated myself! You’re so cute like that!”

And then Turtle realized, Kinkajou was never laughing for herself, she was laughing for him. It wasn’t because she found her own predicament funny, it was his reaction to it that she found amusing. Turtle didn’t know how to feel about that.

He didn’t know how to feel about a lot of things with Kinkajou apparently. She was certainly very strange.

But then maybe that’s what he liked about her.

“Ooh, look at this!” Kinkajou cried, picking up the egg. “It’s here! And I never thought I could do it.”

“Did you really have a choice?” Turtle asked.

Kinkajou looked at him, then burst out laughing again. There was self-consciousness in her eyes, but Turtle saw she reveled in her self-consciousness, _Yep, definitely strange._

“No! I would have given up first chance I got if I had the choice!” Kinkajou burst out through laughter, “Same as you! But I didn’t! So I endured something no sane dragon would even attempt to endure! But yet so many sane dragons never have that choice! So they have to do it anyway!”

Turtle wondered if he should let Kinkajou be with her laughter. Instead he went up to her and twined his tail around hers, letting her calm down.

“So,” said Turtle finally, looking at the egg, “what should we call it?”

Kinkajou’s eyes brightened, “Ooh! Sloth! Papaya! Rainbow! Spectacular! Everything Awesome at Once!”

“Uh…” said Turtle, “I think we can only choose one.”

With that, Turtle and Kinkajou looked at the egg, wondering what to name the dragonet inside.

Turtle pressed himself against Kinkajou’s side, and she pressed herself up against him too. Yes, Kinkajou was a little different, but Turtle loved her for it.


	6. Fatespeaker and Starflight's Egg

“I’M HAVING A VISION!” Fatespeaker cried, eyes squeezed shut, gritting her teeth tight, in front of her class.

Fatespeaker stood there, trying to take the vision in, when-

“Oh, I thought you were having a baby by the expression on your face.”

Fatespeaker was snapped out of the moment, and she turned to glare at Anemone.

“It takes the same amount of effort you know,” Fatespeaker informed her.

“Those are some violent visions then,” Anemone replied, “I’m glad I’m not a seer. Or a mother.”

Fatespeaker sighed. No way was she going to get her vision back now.

“Well, that’s all I have for you today. Class dismissed.”

As the students began to leave, Fatespeaker prepared to go to the library. Anemone’s comment hit closer to home than she could have realized, and Fatespeaker was ready to share the news with Starflight.

In the library, Fatespeaker found Starflight organizing a pile of returned scrolls. As she went up to him, she realized one of the scrolls looked different from the others. Along the binding was the name “Starflight”.

Fatespeaker was surprised. Starflight must have written something.

“What’s that?” Fatespeaker asked, gesturing to the scroll (Although Starflight couldn’t see it, she never could give up her expressive gestures).

Fortunately, Starflight knew what she was talking about.

“This?” Starflight asked, trying to separate his scroll from the others.

“You wrote something.” Fatespeaker exclaimed excitedly. “I got to see this.”

“Wait, don’t-” Starflight protested. But before he could stop her, Fatespeaker had swiped the scroll. Opening it, she began to examine the contents.

Though Starflight was blind, he had been able to regain some form of writing proficiency just by following the movement patterns of his own talons. Fatespeaker could see his workmanship here.

At the bottom of the page were simple sentences such as “Stubbing one’s talons” and “Punched by a scavenger” in list format. But as Fatespeaker continued to go up the list, she began to realize it got more and more painful. “Slamming head on opening,” “Falling down stairs,” “Sitting on Qibli’s Tail,” the gap between items getting further between spaces that began to get in the most extreme territory. “Bitten by bullet ant,” “Clay getting dragon-bite-viper venom burned out (poor Clay),” “Surgery without anesthesia.” And then the list was over.

But wait…

Laying the scroll on the floor, Fatespeaker began to unroll it further. Blankness. Blankness… Blankness….

And then at the very edge of the scroll, running just along the top: “Laying an egg.”

“What in the Three Moons-” Fatespeaker cried.

“I’m pretty sure it’s on scale.” Starflight replied, “It might be a tad bit off given it’s hard to make proper measurements without seeing, but I think it’s close enough.”

“Why would you even write this?” Fatespeaker cried.

Starflight’s face went red. “At least you’ll know what to expect now.” He seemed thoughtful for a moment, “Ironic, we can’t stand the thought of surgery without anesthesia, like it’s some cruel practice nobody deserves to endure, but practically half the population will go through something much worse, and we all accept it as normal. Expected even. It seems weird that Sunny would be in that half.”

“Sunny?” Cried Fatespeaker, “What about me?”

Starflight went still. He couldn’t see, but he almost knew what Fatespeaker was implying.

“Fatespeaker… Are you…?”

Fatespeaker nodded. Of course Starflight couldn’t see that. “Yes.” She said out loud.

Starflight’s eyes lit up. “Congratulations!”

“Congratulations?” Fatespeaker huffed, “I don’t feel very congratulable after seeing” she picked up the edge of the scroll and gave it a slight nudge toward Starflight, “this.”

Starflight had no response.

“What even must be going through your head all day to possess you to write this?” Fatespeaker mumbled.

Starflight blushed red.

“Alright,” said Fatespeaker calming down, “I’m sure it’s not that bad. It’s all exaggerated, that’s all.”

“Actually,” said Starflight speaking up, “That is a common misconception among dragons. The mind can only hold so much trauma and tends to suppress memories that it can’t handle. Laying eggs is without question one of those scenarios, giving some mothers the illusion that it didn’t go so bad as they feared, when in fact it actually went worse.”

“Why do I read some of these scrolls to you?” Fatespeaker grumbled. She should know by now to stop reading when a scroll makes you blush in front of your boyfriend turned husband.

But then again, she knew they should be open with each other if they were to maintain a healthy relationship. Just why did Starflight’s quest to know everything have to be so embarrassing?

 _Well, it can work both ways,_ Fatespeaker thought. Next time she read to Starflight, she would find something that was sure to make him blush.

She wondered if she could find that cursed _Qibli’s Tail_ Fanfic one of the morbid students anonymously wrote. (At least she assumed it was fictional. Thinking back to the entry in Starflight’s scroll, she wasn’t quite so sure anymore.)

“THIS IS NOTHING LIKE HAVING A VISION!” Fatespeaker screamed as labor was full underway. Whatever Starflight had written in his scroll, he guessed it wasn’t far from the truth with how Fatespeaker was screeching.

Starflight stretched his senses in the direction of the hallway. He hoped their cave was far enough removed from the others so nobody overheard. He wouldn’t know what to say if one of the students found them like this.

“What exactly do you feel?” Starflight asked Fatespeaker gently.

“WHAT!?” Screamed Fatespeaker, “ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TRYING TO TAKE NOTES ON THIS!?”

“Somebody has to,” Starflight said, “And it’s best to do it in the moment rather than after, when the memory fades.”

“I FEEL PAIN!!” Fatespeaker screamed, arching her back, “INDESCRIBABLE UNBEARABLE LIFE-SHATTERING PAIN!!!!!!!! OWWWWWWWWWWWW!”

Starflight assumed that was all he was going to get. Pretty much what all the other texts had said. Apparently, there was going to be no bridging the gap between his understanding and what it’s like to lay eggs.

Then, hearing Fatespeaker screeching like she was being ripped apart inside, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

He felt bad for Fatespeaker of course, but from an academic scale, he couldn’t help but be a bit fascinated. What made dragons so willing to keep laying even while knowing this was the result? Maybe he should put that all aside and just care for Fatespeaker. Of course, that’s what he would do, he just needed to refocus his mind.

“I’m sorry,” said Starflight, stepping up to her, “Do you need anything from me?”

“MAKE IT STOP!!!!!” Fatespeaker screamed.

Yep, Starflight’s graph didn’t seem to be far off at all.

“Is everything okay-” suddenly Sunny gasped from the hallway. “What’s happening to Fatespeaker?”

“She’s laying an egg,” answered Starflight awkwardly. He could hear Sunny shaking like the event was making her anxious. Starflight remembered that if Sunny was ever going to start a family for herself someday, she would have to eventually face the same thing.

“Does she need help?” Sunny asked.

“SEND HER AWAY!” Fatespeaker cried. “IT’S TOO MUCH!”

Starflight turned from Fatespeaker to Sunny. As much as it would be nice to have Sunny help, he knew Fatespeaker was his partner, and it was up to her to decide.

“We got this,” Starflight reassured her, “You can go.”

“Okay…” Sunny replied uncertainly. Taking one last glance at Starflight and Fatespeaker, she retreated back down the hallway.

“WHY ME! WHY ME!” Fatespeaker screamed.

“Well, the odds are it’s more or less a 50/50 shot…” said Starflight, being academic again, before realizing this was probably not the time.

“THANK YOU!” SCREECH! “JUST MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!!”

“Actually, according to my estimations, you are approximately halfway through.” Starflight replied.

“WHAT!” Screamed Fatespeaker. “WAIT! I’M HAVING A VISION! THIS WILL BE OVER IN FIVE SECONDS!”

One… Two… Three… Four… Five-

“OWWWWWWWWW! NEVER MIND! NEVER MIND! IT JUST GOT WORSE!” Screeching, screeching, and more screeching.

 _How long can this go on?_ Starflight wondered. _I don’t think she can take any more of this._ Listening to Fatespeaker’s screeching and exhausted writhing, Starflight realized she couldn’t take much more of this a long time ago. Obviously, one could way surpass the breaking point and never yet hit the stopping point.

“Just hang in there,” said Starflight, “You’ll be done eventually.”

“EVENTUALLY! MAKE IT DONE NOW!”

But Starflight could do nothing. Every second, Fatespeaker couldn’t bear another moment of this, but every second was followed by another second just as bad. Fatespeaker couldn’t stop screeching through her pain, and couldn’t even bear to think of being finished, because to be finished, how many more seconds like this must she endure to get there? Whatever Starflight’s chart said, it must surely be right, because there was no quantifying of this.

But then the egg came, and Fatespeaker gasped as the world of agony slipped free from her body.

“I have a vision…” Fatespeaker gasped through exhaustion, “I have a vision I am never doing that again.”

“Scientifically speaking,” Starflight said, “You’ll underplay the whole thing by tomorrow and want to do the whole thing all over again.”

Fatespeaker moaned. Why did Starflight have to be so right. She did see that future ahead of her.

But then-

Fatespeaker picked up the egg.

“But I see a more immediate future right in front of us.” Fatespeaker said. “Our daughter.”

Though Starflight could see the egg, his heart filled with warmth for it. He sidled up to Fatespeaker and twined his tail around hers.

“Our daughter.”

Fatespeaker paused. “Next time, let’s go for a Son. Then we’ll have one of each.”


	7. Glory and Deathbringer's Egg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm aware there is already a Glory Egg-Laying fanfic out there, but I haven't read it due to it being rated E. But still, I hesitated on this chapter because I didn't want to retread what someone else had already done. I instead decided to focus on Glory's commitments as Queen and how egg-laying impacted it. So this is what we got.

Glory examined the walls of hers and Deathbringer’s RainWing hut.

“Oh no, this won’t do at all,” she mumbled to herself, “The walls are too thin, the other dragons will hear us.”

“It’s alright,” Deathbringer replied, stepping up to her side, “It doesn’t matter if anybody hears us.”

“Says you,” responded Glory, “You’re not the one going to be screaming your head off like you’re being murdered.”

“Does it matter if anybody overhears? You’ve heard plenty of other dragons doing the same thing from time to time.”

“I’m their Queen,” exclaimed Glory, “It’s not proper for me to be screaming like a howler monkey where they can hear.”

“It’ll be alright,” Deathbringer assured, “I’ll make sure to keep this as discrete as possible.” Deathbringer sighed, “I can’t wait for the egg to come.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re enthused I’m going to endure that which is the equivalent of torture.” Glory replied, “I must say I’m quite looking forward to it myself.”

“That’s not what I-” Deathbringer stuttered.

“Well, you can’t tell me you’re not.” Glory retorted, “You can’t tell me that watching your partner writhe and scream as if she’s being torn apart inside doesn’t give you some level of enjoyment.”

Deathbringer didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Of course, that’s what I should expect with a partner named Deathbringer.” Now Glory was just being vicious. “Well, at least I’ll know that while I’m suffering, at least my husband is having the time of his life.”

Glory sighed. She was going to have to give Deathbringer the Kick of Doom later to make up for this. She promised him she would only do it on special occasions, and there seemed no more opportune time than this.

 _You’re a strong level-headed dragon,_ Glory thought to herself, _if anybody can take this, you can._

If Glory thought she could keep her cool during laying, she was wrong. The second the first contraction hit, she was screaming in agony.

When you feel something painful, it’s instinct to pull away and try to get away from the thing that’s hurting you. Well, this hurt worse than any of that and Glory couldn’t escape it no matter how much her body tried to writhe free of itself.

If Glory couldn’t take this, then which dragon could?

Many dragons apparently, or else none of them would be here.

“Is this what Tsunami felt when she had her egg!?” Glory cried out as the first wave of contractions relaxed (only slightly of course. The Universe wouldn’t get its full level of entertainment if Glory was given even a split second where she didn’t want to blast her brain through the wall).

“I suppose so,” Deathbringer replied.

“Well one good thing about egg laying then,” Glory responded, “Tsunami had to feel it too!”

“And Sunny. Eventually.” Deathbringer added.

“There’s no way Sunny could take this.” Glory replied with a snort, “I feel bad for her when she joins u-UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!” Glory screamed.

Glory had considered all sorts of way dragons were tortured in preparation for this, but none had truly prepared her for the agony she felt now.

 _Yippee, I’m my own torture chamber,_ Glory wished she could have thought if she were in her right mind.

 _But of course you’re not in your right mind,_ Glory also would have thought, _you’re part of the half of the population destined too loose your right mind to morbid bodily self-torture chambers. Might as well act like the out-of-your-right-mind doofus you are right now._

“I’LL TELL YOU ANYTHING, JUST MAKE IT STOP!” Glory shrieked.

“I don’t think it works that way,” Deathbringer clarified.

“OF COURSE IT WORKS THAT WAY! BECAUSE THIS IS TORTURE!” Glory screamed. “THIS IS A FORM OF CRUEL AND UNNATURAL PUNISHMENT RESERVED FOR GETTING THINGS OUT OF OTHERS, AND I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT’S NATURAL!”

“Well, we are getting _something_ out of you,” Deathbringer remarked.

“WHY YOU-!” Glory remarked, preparing to spring before another wave of contractions knocked her down screaming.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

“NO!” Glory cried, “MY KINGDOM CAN’T SEE ME LIKE THIS!”

“I’ll answer it,” Deathbringer replied.

It was a female RainWing, shifting her talons restlessly.

“Is th Queen there? We have a situation, it’s very urgent.”

“Uh…” said Deathbringer, “Sorry, the Queen is currently tied down at the moment, uh, performing her uh… Queenly Egg-Laying Duties.”

“Oh,” replied the RainWing, “Is that the screaming I hear? Well could she put it on hold for a moment? We really have a situation here.”

Glory was seriously tempted to change her decision not to execute any of her subjects.

“A bunch of sloths decided to lay down in Mango’s Suntime spot, so Mango parked himself in Jambu’s Suntime spot, so Jambu is now sleeping on one of the NightWing’s roof, and the NightWing is now out for murder!”

Hypothetical level-headed Queen Glory ashamed of herself. She was Queen of the RainWings, she should be on top of things, not leveled incapacitated by this… dumb queen pain!

This hypothetical Glory was very interesting. Her and the real Glory would have to have a chat once this was all over to share their perceptions of the situation.

But the real Glory was not having any of this right now. And then Kinkajou showed up.

“Hey! Guess what! I wanted to show Queen Glory something! It’s so ADORABLE!” Kinkajou shouted, bursting past the RainWing and Deathbringer and into Glory’s hut.

“GET OUT!” Screamed Glory as another wave of contractions hit her.

Kinkajou was taken aback. But quickly recovered. “What’s up with you?”

Yep, it was a good thing Glory was in no state to perform a public execution.

“She’s having her egg,” Deathbringer said, ushering her back out the door.

“Ooh, sounds cool, I wonder why she’s so grumpy about it. Maybe Moon will know, she knows about such things. Or… Turtle…” Kinkajou said, blushing.

“Hey, I got an idea, why don’t you go with this nice RainWing here, and chase some sloths. She’ll show you where to go.” Deathbringer said.

“Really? Ooh cool!” Kinkajou was about to follow the RainWing away when Glory gave out the most painful, bloodcurdling shriek one could imagine. Kinkajou stopped, “Woah! Are you sure that’s Glory in there? It sure doesn’t sound like her. I wouldn’t want to go through that if it sounds like that, whatever it is.”

“Don’t worry, you will,” said Deathbringer, giving Kinkajou one final push out the door, shoving it closed behind her.

Deathbringer turned to Glory, who was already holding her egg in her talons, no longer screaming.

“You know, I could have handled that,” Glory said, breathing hard from exhaust.

“No, you couldn’t have,” Deathbringer declared.

“Here, let me go after them,” said Glory, taking a step forward. Suddenly, she stumbled, and Deathbringer rushed to her side to catch her.

“Here, rest,” Deathbringer said, helping her to the floor. Deathbringer could see the sweat still rolling down her face, “you just laid an egg, more than I could ever wish on myself. Kinkajou can handle her mission.”

Sighing, Glory let herself rest beside Deathbringer. Silver, who had been out hunting for fruit came through the little trap door in the ceiling to join them. Silver noticed the egg, then looked up at Glory as if to ask, _Hey, where did this come from?_

“Yes, I did that while you were away,” Glory told her sloth. Silver seemed satisfied with the answer, and climbed up atop Glory to lay on her neck. Glory looked at Deathbringer. “So let me clarify,” said Glory, “Queens are supposed to be noble and dignified, right?”

“I would think so,” replied Deathbringer.

“But in order to ensure the continuation of her line through descendants, she has to go through the most humiliating, undignified, not to mention painful thing imaginable?”

Deathbringer hesitated. “I… Guess…”

“Makes sense,” Glory decided.

Glory shook her head, life was ridiculous. Glory knew she had a kingdom to run, but for this moment, she would allow herself to rest.

So with Deathbringer, Silver, and her newly laid egg at her side, she let herself fall into a deep peaceful sleep. She’d been through a lot, she deserved it.


	8. Sundew's and Willow's Eggs

Sundew had no idea how this would sound, but she knew she had to be open with Willow.

“Willow,” Sundew began, “I need to tell you some-”

“Sundew, there’s something you should know.” Willow said at the same time. They both looked at each other, waiting for the other to speak. Finally-

“I’m going to have an egg,” they both said at the same time. They looked at each other in shock.

“What?” Said Sundew, “How is this even possible?”

“Well,” said Willow awkwardly, “I looked into it, and for man egg laying species, they can lay eggs without a father involved, they just turn out infertile.”

“Great,” grumbled Sundew, “This is one of the reasons I never liked boys. But because I’m a girl – which is great by the way - why does this have to be a part of it?”

“I don’t know,” replied Willow, “but at least we’re in this together.”

When they said laying an egg was unbearable, they were right. Sundew had thought bullet ants were the peak of pain one could feel, but this had to be worse! As much as Sundew tried to force herself to bear it, it was just too unbearable, but no matter how unbearable it was, she could do nothing but bear it.

“OW! OW! OW! OW! OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWS!” Screamed Sundew.

If this was one tenth as painful as it was it would still be so unbearable Sundew wished she could die!

As Willow watched, bringing Sundew a bowl of water, she couldn’t help but feel the anxiety. It was only a matter of minutes before she joined Sundew on the floor like that, and she couldn’t help but wonder if she could take it.

In short answer, she couldn’t, for at that moment, the first contractions hit, and Willow was collapse to the floor screaming, dropping the bowl, and spilling it everywhere.

“OWWWW! OWWWWW! OWWWWWWWWWWWWW!” Willow screamed in pure horrific agony. She couldn’t take this path! Her body couldn’t take it!

But her body did nothing to stop it as she screamed and writhed on the floor besides Sundew, both wishing they were instead being eaten alive by a hoard of bullet ants.

“ARE YOU FEELING THIS!?” Screamed Sundew.

“YES!” Replied Willow.

“WELL, I FEEL BAD FOR YOU!” Cried Sundew.

“YOU TOO!” Screamed Willow.

And then they were both hit by another wave of contractions. They both screamed out as they writhed on the floor.

“I TAKE THAT BACK!” Screamed Sundew, “THIS IS TOO MUCH FOR TWO DRAGONS TO FACE! I DON’T CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU, JUST LET ME OUT!”

“RIGHT BACK AT YOU!” Screamed Willow.

Outside, a dragon was passing by when he heard the screaming. It sounded like a torture chamber in there! He scurried away quickly; he didn’t have time to bother with this. He had to get back home to his wife who was expecting, he wasn’t sure how deliveries worked, but he was sure it would be perfect and wonderful, and he didn’t want to miss a moment of it. He felt bad for the two dragons behind that door, but at least they weren’t his wife.

Back inside.

“I THOUGHT THE REASON WE USED FRYING PANS WAS SO THAT WE DIDN’T HURT OURSELVES WHEN WE MADE OUR EGGS!” Sundew screamed.

“EXACTLY!” Willow screamed back.

“THEN WHY DO I FEEL LIKE I’M TRAPPED IN THE FRYING PAN BEING BURNT OVER THE FIRE RIGHT NOW!” Screamed Sundew.

“I KNOW!” Screamed Willow.

And the pain continued, completely unbearable, yet completely inescapable.

When they were finished, Sundew and Willow panted for breath. Sundew looked at her egg and frowned.

“Well, that was for nothing,” Sundew growled, “And I feel ridiculous.”

Willow stood up beside her and looked at her egg as well. “Yeah, it does feel pretty pointless now that we look at it.” Willow sighed, “I guess sometimes things happen for no reason that are out of our control and that’s just the way things are. We can’t really do anything about it, we just have to move forward and make the best of our lives with which we have.”

Sundew looked at Willow, then back at the eggs, “We could make some omelets.”

Willow glanced at Sundew, she couldn’t tell if she was serious or joking.

Willow looked at the eggs. At least they wouldn’t go to waste…


	9. Peril and Clay's Eggs

Peril had never been happier in her life. Her and Clay were together, and Peril was with her first clutch of eggs. Clay loved her as much as she could hope to dream, and she loved Clay more than… well, basically everything in the world combined, _like so obviously._ Of course Clay was a MudWing and he was naturally drawn to his siblings and always would be, but he’d gone to such lengths against his natural instincts to show Peril that she was number 1 in his life.

Peril looked over at Clay and smiled. There was no shame in loving such a sweet hunk of MudWing and she was not afraid to show it. Clay gave his gentle smile back.

“Ready for our eggs?” Peril asked, “Because I am.”

“Yeah,” said Clay. He felt a little worried, raising dragonets was a new thing for him, and MudWings in general. He didn’t want to be like Kestrel.

Peril rushed to Clay’s side and gave him a hug. Clay flinched for a second, but then allowed himself to sidle up next to her and twine his tail around hers.

Though Clay’s scales were less vulnerable to fire, he wasn’t completely fireproof, and Peril felt a little bad about how she slightly burnt him in order for them to have their eggs.

At least it wasn’t like the time she burnt the dragon-bite viper venom out of Clay. At first she’d had no second thoughts about it, she was saving Clay’s life and that’s all that mattered, nothing could really hurt her before, so she really had no idea what true pain had felt like. After being shot by that dragonflame cactus though, she had begun to realize what it really meant to be in pain, and slowly she began to realize what that must have meant for Clay, and for that, she couldn’t help but feel some level of guilt on what she must have made him endure, even if it was for his greater good.

Peril had heard laying eggs was a painful experience too. Yeah right, it couldn’t hurt more than having a dragonflame cactus exploding in your face, right.

Nope, it hurt much worse.

Peril writhed and screamed through the unimaginable pain. THIS WAS NOTHING LIKE A DRAGONFLAME CACTUS! Peril had no idea so much pain could even exist for one dragon. Was this what other dragons felt when she burnt them to a crisp back in the arena? Because if it only hurt a fraction of this bad, she regretted her life decisions.

Then again, maybe it was mercy. Kill the dragon so they would never live to face this.

So Peril screamed, lost in a helpless pain she never knew possible. Pain that could completely level her, and make her only able to wish for escape.

Many times, Peril had wanted to set the world on fire. Now a world of fire was running through her, drowning her out from the rest of reality.

“CLAY!” She cried out, the world around her swirling in an inferno of pain, pain she believed only she could inflict but now was lost in an abyss way more than she ever imagined, all alone a fog of agony surrounding her awareness, “CLAY!”

And then his talons were in hers, a small speck of love penetrating the fog of agony that consumed her very being.

Clay winced a bit at the heat of her scales, but he figured if Peril needed him, it was worth a small bit of heat. She rested her head against his, crying out in pain.

“Clay! Clay!”

“I’m here Peril. I’m here for you.”

Peril shifted her talons, struggling to pull just a little bit of focus away from her pain, and into the feel of Clay’s talons in hers. While the rest or the Universe was drowned out by pain, here there was, a small connection to Clay, holding her, loving her, as only Clay could.

Clay remembered when Peril burned the dragon-bite viper venom out of him, how it was so painful he lost his identity of who he was. Even to this day, he still felt bad for himself, knowing that being himself meant suffering such excruciating, helpless agony. Was this what Peril was going through now? What all the dragons who laid eggs went through? By how Peril was screaming, he almost thought it was worse, which was awful. Clay couldn’t even bear to think of the dragon-bite viper incident most times, much less that they all went through something worse. Clay couldn’t help but think of his other friends, Glory, Tsunami, and especially Sunny. It was bad enough seeing Peril go through this, did it have to include all his friends as well?

Peril continued to writhe and scream, her only connection to the real world Clay’s talon in hers.

Suddenly, there was the sound of sizzling. The egg was coming, and Peril’s heart was suddenly gripped by fear at the realization the egg had come in contact with her Firescales.

“Oh no! My egg! I’m burning it! I’m killing it! I always kill eggs! That’s what I do!” Peril wailed through the pain.

And then it was done, Peril’s first egg. Clay rushed back to retrieve the egg.

“Did I burn it? Did I kill our baby?” Peril cried.

Clay felt the egg. It was hot to the touch, and Clay instinctively pulled his talon away. But no. It wasn’t too hot, and cooling down rapidly. Clay picked up the egg and raised it to his ear. Being a teacher at Jade Mountain Academy had taught him a thing or two. And inside the egg, he heard the gentle rhythm of an egg slowly forming into a dragonet.

“It’s okay,” Clay said, “Our dragonet is all right.”

But Peril had already went back under into her world of screaming as she went on to lay the next of their eggs.

Clay once again joined her at her side.

“I’m here for you Peril, I always will be.”

Peril had finished laying, and was now resting. It had been intense, and Peril still could not comprehend what she’d been through. But now there were 6 healthy eggs beside her, despite her worries, not a single one was harmed by her Firescales. Must be a defense mechanism for her and Clay’s descendants. Clay’s friend Starflight would know, but she’d leave that for him to ask.

Clay curled up beside her and twined his tail around hers.

“How are you doing?”

“I’m doing alright.” Peril answered. She looked into Clay’s eyes. “I love you.”

Clay stared back. Growing up with adopted sibs had surely helped him adapt to being with other dragons outside just his own family, and he clearly loved Peril as much as any of his other sibs, but he was trying so hard to love her as something more. And looking into her eyes, he knew it was true, Peril was the one he wanted to spend his life with. “I love you too,” Clay replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any suggestions on characters I haven't done yet? There's Lynx and Winter, Luna and Swordtail, Indigo and Fathom, and then there's Queen Snowfall, but I'm not sure who to ship her with as I've already shipped Sky with Sunny, and Skyfall is not yet cannon so it's too soon for an AU. (Cricket and Blue have a separate story, so that's why they aren't listed here.)

**Author's Note:**

> Which characters do you want to see here?


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